Some protest, some insist the sky is falling, some think it's the end of the world as we know it.

Meanwhile, in flyover country, folks like the way things are going. Meanwhile, the old media and the left shake their heads and wonder why they are so much smarter than the rubes.

On Outnumbered today, they discussed a poll that showed that while Republicans and Dems were predictably split along party lines, independents thought things were headed in the right direction at a 59% clip, up from 39% a couple years ago.

Another former MLB infielder, 27-year-old Nick Noonan, is headed to the Brewers on
a minors pact. He was able to reach the bigs last year with the Padres.
Noonan spent most of the season at Triple-A, slashing .301/.338/.427
over 374 plate appearances.--MLBTR

Minor league fodder, it would appear. Career AAA line of just under a 700 OPS, which means he hits exactly like you would expect a 2B/SS to hit. Has played about 100 games at 3B too, so his ceiling appears to be a utility infielder who can't hit. Does have decent pop for a middle infielder, but gets out too often to make a difference. Add him to the Colorado Springs mix.

Carbs are empty calories that do nothing* except provide profits for those manufacturing them. Our government provides huge subsidies for those growing them. They also had cereal and processed grains at the top of the food chart for many years until many laughed at them.

The only thing I find funnier is the way so many "foodies" incorporate "organic honey" and "pure sugar" into recipes, while they mock corn syrup and artificial sweeteners (that contain almost zero calories and digestible carbs).

Holding a "let's complain" session might be enough to lure in the gullible old media, but Paul Ryan got 65% of the vote last election...in comparison, Reagan got 59% in the 1984 presidential election that is considered a landslide of monumental proportion.

They just don't get it. Voting is what's important, not self important wasting time.

Remember how they wasted all that money on the Walker recall? And were met by an apathetic public that happily showed up and voted for fiscal responsibility in greater numbers than before? All the loud complaining? All the insistence that Walker was very unpopular?

As many have pointed out, thus far, one of the most astounding accomplishments of the Trump presidency is the sudden concern of the left and the old media (but, I repeat myself) about government spending.

You get the feeling the hysterics and silliness will soon become much more subdued, as I've seen a dozen or so pieces in the past week or so which mirrored this one, and, dare I say, what I've been saying since the day after the election.

That said, as long as the old media continues to attack, many on the left will feel free to do so as well. But soon, common sense would say, the party itself will realize their missteps and begin to focus on 2018 and 2020.

I've been boycotting them for about 2-3 decades. I guess I was ahead of my time. Saving Private Ryan losing to some piece of crap was the last straw for myself, though I rarely paid much attention even before that.

There are too many money quotes to cut and paste, but it's tough to resist these two:

---“I’m sorry, I don’t talk to the press and that applies to you, unfortunately,” Chelsea said. “Even though I think you’re cute.”

The interrogator? A 9-year-old “kid reporter” from Scholastic News.

---Chelsea is regarded as an overeducated underachiever. “It bothers the
s—t out of me that everyone thinks she’s the greatest thing since
sliced bread,” one ex-associate told Daniel Halper, author of “Clinton
Inc: The Audacious Rebuilding of a Political Machine.” “She’s never had a
[real] job. She’s been in college for 12 years.”

Forgive me for being giddy at the possibility of having Chelsea become an unofficial spokesperson of the left.
Of course, those that think it could never happen, all it would take in New York is for her to make a deal with the party, and I doubt any mere citizen would bother running against her, because they'd be told not to. And in NYC, the GOP often does not bother running candidates for many offices, so the only campaigning would be the primary.

I'm not the only one who has noticed the world is always ending...in a few years. And the only way to save the planet? Taking more of our money. You know a group has zero credibility when nothing makes them more mad than pointing out what they've said in the past, and that they were completely off base.

I haven't eaten white sugar in 3 months and decided to have caramel
kettle corn tonight. NOT a good idea. Amazing how your body reacts
instantly.--Candace Cameron Bure

Me and CCB could have a LONG talk about your body's way of telling you something. Between this and trying to get used to a medication, I've spent more time in the bathroom in the past month than a bus station hooker.

In the past few days, a few never Trumpers (you know, the ones that are so much smarter than the rest of us, who not only insisted Trump had no chance of winning, but were happily willing to give Hillary Clinton the next 1-3 Supreme Court justices), including George Will, have predicted (hopefully, I'm sure) that the GOP would split this summer.

Not only does that seem strange, to say the least, as they have been working together for months now to iron out tax cuts and a health care plan to fix Obamacare (and get the cabinet in, as the left has delayed that to a crawl not seen since George Washington, when guys took a few weeks to report because, you know, they had to rest their horses), but since early NOV, the party that is struggling to come together is certainly not the Republicans.

On a related note, "prison reform" is the newfangled term for "a slap on the wrist." Obama opened the doors and let a plethora of criminals back on the street, and the blood will be on his hands when they inevitably (but unexpectedly) break the law again.

As long as they keep ignoring economic issues and focus on this pathetic "aw, let's hold hands and make the world better," crap, the future is bright.

The Brewers are set to give Jesus Aguilar a shot at winning a bench job with the club, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports on Twitter.
Claimed off waivers earlier in the winter from the Indians, the
26-year-old Aguilar is out of options. While he hasn’t seen much MLB
action, Aguilar does own a productive .271/.346/.472 batting line at the
Triple-A level and could share time at first with new Milwaukee signee Eric Thamesif he impresses this spring.--MLBTR

In my mind, I had Perez picking up PA's versus a tough LHP at 1B, but considering Shaw also bats LH, Perez will probably play 3B most of the time, picking up playing time elsewhere when RHP's start. Assuming, of course, the starting 8 stays healthy.

Fake news. The old media has just ignored the fact they are busing in folks from liberal college towns 3 hours away, because the pesky facts don't tell the narrative they want told.

Note the classy behavior as well, showing a picture of the fella in NY, who is able to just laugh off these protests because he's in a red district, back when he was heavier.

Again, I ask...what are they protesting...the fact they are radical and in the minority? As long as they keep doing stuff like this, they will lose the moderates and independents. I hope they keep it up. WI is far redder today than it was before the Act 10 vandalism and bad behavior. They just don't get it.

Scooter wil certainly be able to play LF if needed...my goodness, Adam Dunn played several seasons of corner OF. Chris Carter played lots of LF before he spnt all season at 1B for the Crew.

Will he play deep, and probably be conservative? Yep. His below average arm won't help, but as Khris Davis showed, weak arms do not cost you a plethora of runs, though you give up a base now and then. LF's average a couple chances a game, and the vast majority of them are on routine fly balls.

The problem with Scooter in the OF is that hits like a 2B, not his defense. With Perez and Gennett both able to play OF (Hernan proved capable at all 3 spots), it would appear the Crew will only carry one extra OF, and barring injury, it will be Nieuwenhuis.

Act 10 is so terrible, and has worked so poorly...other states are using it as a role model. Keep selling that tale, Dems. Please. By the way, every time there's a teaching opening in our district, 50-100 folks apply. Seems that "shortage" we were told would certainly occur might have been just a wee bit overstated...

As I said after Devos was confirmed, in a decade, the left will have rewritten history and insisted they got school choice passed and working so well. After all, Liz Warren was for it before she was against it.

{She was also a Native American before she was a Caucasian, but hence, I digress.}

Walker's tuition reduction is a great idea, never mind what the guy from Brookfield says. You'd throw out goofy opinions too if you knew you would get 65% of the vote if you said Hitler was a heckuva guy.

Make the system find the savings. They lied to us for years about their fiscal situation, and probably still are. Cut some fat and earn your keep.

I'll start worrying about college campuses when they start worrying about protecting Republican students and speakers Constitutional rights. Until then, use that tea bag a couple more times Professor and turn that thermostat down to 75.

The hell you say. As the article says, who could have seen this coming? Anyone who has ever read a book on economics.

I'm sure the tax is not raising nearly as much as they thought it would either. People vote with their feet, and their wallets. The left simply can't believe that those pesky rubes are simply driving a few miles to the suburbs to buy their carbonated beverages and groceries. Why don't they just suffer and take the pain!

Of course, the only ones truly suffering are, wait for it, those who are too poor or do not have transportation, most probably elderly and living on fixed income. Taxes like this, much like gas tax, are far more regressive than other types.

Sheriff Clarke is correct...and the fact she did not mind said travel vetting when Obama issued the same thing a few years earlier tells you all you need to know...unpatriotic hypocrites rarely make good defenders of freedom.

Don't let the door...

Take a gander at how the polite and civil left reacts when a woman decides to be an American and not worry about labels and ethnicity...they treat her like an outcast. Meanwhile, we welcome everyone into our party, with open arms. We have a mighty big tent and there's always room for more.

He's right though. Republicans did not win the election for Trump...independents, moderates, and Reagan Dems (in 20 years, will they call them Trump Dems?) did. I voted for McCain and Romney...I was not the difference. Those folks that voted for Obama twice...or did not vote at all before...they are who won it for Trump.

So, those folks that angry Dems are chastising are EXACTLY the voter they need to get back in the W column. The slower they realize this, the better.

After all, they're so much smarter than me, they were 100% sure Trump would never win the primary or general election. And that the incredibly famous and wealthy tycoon who made himself a celebrity just because and won an unwinnable election...is nothing but a darn dope.

"And, I am happy to report, I am also a fairly happy, confident person."

Yes, of course. That would explain all the random screaming.

If she was ecstatic, she'd probably be suicidal.

On a semi related note, I'm fat and a guy, and people hold the door open for me all the time. Whenever someone blames their horrible attitude and outlook on life on anything, be it their weight, relationship, city they live in, or job; you can just about bet your life that the issue is not with any of those things.

Thought I'd wait until today to comment on the Badgers, since many of my initial thoughts I had watching the game were not true in looking at the box score.

Facts: UW actually had one less turnover than Ohio State did. I assume the Buckeyes scored more points off these, including some 3's in the first half.

Ohio State had a pair more offensive rebounds, but that was not as many as I would have thought.

Lots of talk from Gard and the team that they were not tough and lacked hustle, didn't get loose balls...that tends to be a bit of a cliche whenever teams lose, as you never hear a coach say, "Well we played hard and gave great effort, but we just shot the ball crappy because we're not as talented."

For years, it seemed the Badgers would lose in the tournament when they ran into a hot shooting team, be it Steph Curry's Davidson or some other team. Last night, Ohio State hit an amazing 10 of 16 from 3 point range. Even in warmups, unguarded, that's impressive. Put another way:

When they shot a 3 pointer, the Buckeyes averaged 1.88 points per attempt.
When they shot a 2 pointer, the Buckeyes averaged 0.88 points per attempt.

Part of that might well be not defending the 3 properly, but some times, you just gotta tip your hat. It's mighty tough to make that up, especially with Happ and Hayes seemingly not handling the swarming defense (11 points, 4 turnovers) like you would think they would...when you're being double teamed, that means at least one of your teammates (and often two) are open.

Every road game is a battle, and Ohio State has struggled overall, but is still 13-5 at home. Michigan State, who the Badgers play this weekend, is 13-2 at home. We're very spoiled with their success, and it's easy to dismiss them as "not as good" as the Kaminsky and Dekker led teams (which is very true). However, they're plenty capable of making a run. Trust me, Rutgers and Nebraska would give anything to be 22-6. Considering the four seniors will be taking about 160 minutes with them, we might be yearning for this as early as next season.

Bucks sign Alex Toupane to a 10 day contract. Wing who has been scoring 20 points a game in the D League, despite only shooting 32% from 3. Looks to be a slasher, shooting 54% in 2 point attempts, and getting to the line an amazing 10 times a game in 28 minutes a game. Granted, I'm sure the defense is hack and grab at that level, but golly.

I'm a bit surprised they did not sign a point guard, though Giannis gives them options at that spot.

Money quote: While media pundits, fat-cat corporate CEOs and urban liberals are
wailing and gnashing their teeth over Trump's election, the general
public understands that his victory provides genuine hope that the
economic malaise Obama inflicted on the country will soon be over.

The Never-Trumpers can't bring themselves to admit any of this, for
obvious reasons. But if there's bigger news since Trump's surprise
November victory than the dramatic increase in hope across the land,
we'd like to see it.

So, ponder this for a second...you are one of the rubes in flyover country. You feel better about your economic future than you have in over a decade. And every day, you turn on the news and hear the old media insist the fella they said had no chance of winning the primary...and then had no chance of winning in November, is having a terrible time...and they wonder why no one trusts the old media.

Remember what they were printing a few years ago. They can delete the embarrassments (it's the end of the world as we know it...but this time, it's REALLY the end of the world as we know it!) all they want in their attempts to rewrite history, but the internet never forgets.

Through all the facade of giving a damn about the kids (that's why they called in sick so parents had to scramble for daycare and poor kids lost a hot meal you know), Act 10 was all about one thing...the ability to deduct dues directly from the checks of those awful few that would prefer keeping the money they earned.

I forget who said it, but I assume the fictional Trump anti Jewish talk is because of the real remarks made by Keith Ellison, who despite his proven past of racism, is up for leadership positions in the Dem party, because their bench is so strong.

Money quote: Walker
said he called Education Secretary Betsy DeVos after she was recently
blocked by protesters from entering a D.C. school. "You know what?" he
said he told her. "Been there, done that."

He recalled protesters gluing
the doors to an elementary school shut when he was heading there to read
to children. He entered the school after the door hinges were removed.

Teams can acquire a player without sending out matching salary if that player's salary fits within that trade exception, plus $100,000.--Basketball InsidersThe Bucks now have 4 trade exceptions, though they expire a year after the original trade. Most do expire without being used, but they can sometimes be utilized in a major deal. It means instead of having to match salaries, the Bucks can pick up $5.1M more in a trade, if they wish.

Cleveland's Andrew Bogut interest is well-chronicled but sources say San
Antonio /Houston will join the hunt if Bogut lands a Philly buyout.--ESPN

For those that don't understand this, players with next to no value at their current contract level will have oodles of value if suddenly available at or near the league minimum or veteran's minimum. Bogut is one of many, and after the deadline, the buyouts always begin in earnest. Teams are able to shed unwanted players and pick up a roster spot and shed a bit of payroll, players are able to move on from a team that does not want them and possibly go to a contender.

Roy Hibbert (for those that did not know it, he was acquired by the Bucks for Plumlee) heading to the Nuggets for a future draft pick. DEN needed to add salary or be in violation of the league's salary floor, Bucks free up a roster spot and are are now able to balance the roster a bit and/or participate in the upcoming buyout frenzy, as teams cut loose players they do not want anymore (unless they make a trade in the next 5 minutes).

EDIT: Said pick is "heavily protected" meaning MIL is unlikely to get it unless the Nuggets improve their standing before the pick is made.

EDIT 2: Pick is thought to be so heavily protected as to be nearly impossible that the Bucks will ever receive anything for Hibbert, except, of course, a roster spot and salary relief.

You are a libertarian leaning conservative.You're on the right and libertarian portion of the political spectrum!
You prize individualism and personal liberty above all else. You believe
in private property and the free market. You tend to be patriotic but
you're skeptical of the state and you find little to no value in
government institutions. You believe that success depends on the
individual's ability to pull themselves up by their own boot straps and
take advantage of the opportunities they have. You see taxes as a form
of oppression and you believe that the greatest threat to freedom is big
government. You believe in a society of independent and hard-working
individuals who take care of themselves. You want big brother out of
your bedroom, out of your bank account, and off your property!

37 years ago today. If they played 49 more times, they may well have not won another game.

That's why those that insist live sports and rights fees will "crash and burn" simply do not get it. In 500 years, they will still be showing movies on a large screen in a theater, and live sports will still be watched by the rubes in flyover country.

If you don't love your country, don't watch. Or, root for the team in red and hope this time, it goes your way.

George Takei said almost the exact same thing as Milo, but since he's a liberal, he will be unpunished.

As I talked about, I don't think Milo is much more than a loud brash fella who sensed an opportunity to find his niche. I certainly do not feel much sympathy for him, but, the double standard is apparent.

ADDED: Great minds. Bill Maher too? I might be the only person who has not said it at the end of the day.

Single game tickets are on sale for all Brewers' regular season games. I guess they finally decided to eliminate that silly "stand out in the cold" day at Miller Park...I guess they can still do that if they prefer, as I assume the ticket windows are open at least on weekdays.

Carbonated beverages are an easy call, as they are completely unnecessary.

Lots of other stuff is a tough decision...ice cream? Chips? Some states tried banning cake and pies, but muffins were OK, and the only difference between cake and muffins is the pan they are baked in. I am consistently in the camp of limited government, so I don't really like the extra time and expense to grocers, but I also hate the idea of taxpayers paying for kids to drink 2-3 cans of pop every day. Truth be known, I'd allow diet and low calorie soft drinks and drink mixes, but not regular. Add all that, it comes painfully close to "we know better."

Easiest solution would just be to limit it to "food," which does not include pop, drink mixes, energy drinks, and so on. The rest is just too much of a burden on business.

All because the taxpayers no longer have to pay for the privileged class to have better benefits than themselves. Funny, I seem to distinctly recall that Act 10 was the end of the world as we know it...a phrase I hear often, yet is never true.

As I now say often, since we're seeing fictional news reported as real every single day...maybe they should just report what happened and shut the hell up, because right now, they're embarrassing themselves immensely.

I have little doubt Milo is playing pretty much everyone. He's funny just like Anthony Jeselnik is funny, both tell terribly inappropriate jokes, and both have plenty of detractors. Neither would be rich and famous if they told jokes like Seinfeld did. So they don't.

And they have figured out how to get tons of free publicity...say something that pushes the envelope. Then continue pushing. Anther example would be Tucker Max, who while graduating from college and law school with honors and ahead of schedule, wrote books on the side about drinking too much and behaving badly. For years, he made a comfy living doing this, and now that he's married and has a family, is an angel investor.

Pretending these guys are idiots and don't know what they're doing is to not understand how intelligent they are. They have learned that being different, being loud and politically incorrect...sells. They are the modern version of "dead baby" jokes, a short lived fad that was popular in the 90's.

{The only one I remember is "What's the difference between a dead baby and a bowling ball? You can't pick up a bowling ball with a pitchfork." As Gilbert Gottfried would say, I apologize to any dead babies I offended.}

It died out within months (pun intended), in retrospect, probably because the old media did not keep promoting it by saying how terrible it was.

EDIT: Meghan McCain agrees. And whenever I can quote a woman who once tweeted, "If I could auto remove my mentions that contains the word boobs, I would not have any," I do.

Scott Adams was right all along. He not only insisted Trump would win, even when down in all the polls, he explained why, and that Trump was smarter than the naysayers and the common folks would carry him to victory.

Luckily for us, we had the Huffington Post and the vast majority insisting Adams was a fool. I was laughed at and mocked for suggesting on election eve that Trump would fall one state short. 265 electoral votes? "I doubt he gets over 165." A Facebook friend (who has since unfriended me, I can only assume because I'm a damn deplorable rube) said Hillary would win by a Reaganesque margin, even the southern states would never vote for him. When a high school classmate who now lives in Kentucky backed me up and said "I do not know a single person who will vote for Clinton. She has no chance," he was told he needed to stop hanging out with toothless rednecks (see the bullying behavior of the left) and hang with a better class of people...hinting, I guess, like himself (for those curious, Trump won KY 63-33).

Adams got it right, we all got it wrong, just some far more than others. Nate Silver, 90 days later, is still making excuses, proudly pointing out the polls that had Hilary winning by a small margin was correct, even though he and most serious prognosticators use state polls, which were off by 10-15 points...because they're so much smarter than the rest of us.

It's very difficult not to notice that the sky is falling and the end of the world folks are one and the same as the Trump has no chance folks. They're still trying to lay the blame elsewhere. See, I told you so.

As usual, I'm far too busy enjoying myself every day to worry about their negative outlook. It's exhausting to surround yourself with such fictional gloomy gus silliness.

I think it has more to do with the widely held belief that only deplorables and idiots voted for him. You know, like white women, white men...many of them even go to church on Sunday and work (gasp) regular jobs.

A wise man has been saying that's how the coasts look at us for a couple decades now, but I just can't recall who that genius was.

CORRECTION/BUMP: I guess Cousins is a FA after the 2017-18 campaign, which makes more sense. I could have sworn others said he was a FA this summer, and they probably did, but I should have checked. The Pelicans cannot give him the max contract like the Kings could have, so I guess I misunderstand the complex NBA rules on these things.

I'm not a fan of Cousins and doubt he will bring success to the Pelicans, now or next year. The only way I see them "winning" this deal is if they can trade him over the summer or before next year's deadline for as much or more.

People far smarter than myself are insisting the Kings got robbed, and traded DeMarcus Cousins for far too little. However, as a proud contrarian, I find myself on the other side.

Why?

1. Am I the only one who sees Cousins is a FA after the season? They're not trading an all star, they traded an all star with about 25 games left on his contract, and who will then be a FA.

2. Considering he has less than a third of a single season remaining, a rookie and a couple draft picks is a pretty good haul.

3. SAC loses their 1st round pick this summer...unless it is in the top 10 picks...therefore, the lower they finish, the better odds of that happening. As of today, they would have the 11th pick. Therefore, losing a few games is very likely in their best long term interests. Top 10 picks are very valuable.

4. As of today, SAC is the 9th seed in the west...but even if they get to the 8th spot, they would appear destined to get blown out by GS or SA.

5. Can they really afford to risk losing Cousins for nothing?

6. Finally, is Cousins, a technical foul machine and at best, a selfish player, really the player you want to make the face of your franchise and sign to a 5y/$200M+ deal?

Not really related, but, does New Orleans really think they're getting a lot out of this? They're a game behind SAC, and seemingly have little chance to do anything but sneak in and play the Warriors. Do they think they can sign Cousins long term, and then, immediately not regret signing Cousins long term?

I would not have guessed the difference between the MLB and KBO would be moire fastballs in the USA, but I'll defer to Stearns. It is funny, no one has any idea what Thames will do, but his contract is far from a huge risk due to the lack of money and years.

They're so quick to want to argue Trump is wrong, but they would not want any of these criminals anywhere near their themselves or their families.

What they mean is: We should let them in and make sure they are comfy...and we should do so by having people that make more than myself pay for it, and let them live in red states. Because shut up you racist.

It's likely not a coincidence that when Trump decides to inform the old media he'd not going to roll over and take it anymore, his supporters decide they're going to do the same thing.

On a semi related note, when I was in 6th grade, we were doing some sort of math problem, and the teacher kept insisting the answer was different than what we were all coming up with. He asked several students, they all told him it was one answer (the same one mind you) and he kept insisting we were doing something wrong. We then broke for lunch, or recess, or art or music or something.

When we returned, he said he had been approached by a single student, who told him that the answer was indeed what everyone had been saying it was. Sure enough, when he worked it, he got the same answer...the answer key he had just assumed was correct was not. He said, "Let this be a lesson to you. If you believe something is right, stand up for yourself. This won't be the last time someone insists you're wrong, but you're not."

The irony is, for years, on the subject of gay marriage, I would tell people how I felt:

1. The government should not be in the business of marriage. It's a religious custom, and unrelated to keeping us safe and making sure we have the ability to be successful.

2. However, if the government does decide to wrongly get involved in this issue, any two consenting adults should have every right to get married, or whatever you want to call this custom.

I was called a darn goof by many. Told I went against God, the bible, the natural order of things, and most of all, that it was "just icky" to think about. I informed them that while I was not gay, that freedom was far more important than all their silly little problems with it. After all, if the government could regulate who you could marry, they could also tell you where you can live, how you want your eggs prepared, and if you have to wear a helmet on a motorcycle or a seat belt in a car (the individual has every right to jump out of an airplane, but by gosh, we gotta protect them, because...wait for it...we know better).

So, over the last 30 years, the feelings on this has completely changed. While 30 years ago, I was in a tiny minority, I am now in a huge majority. Turns out, most people now think that freedom is a pretty darn good thing. Of course, for a variety of reasons, the tide has turned the other way on other freedoms I listed, because we have added thousands of new rules, regs, and laws because...wait for it...the government, the same one that struggles to deliver the mail (and loses $50M a day doing so)...knows better.

If you think out your position the first time, you don't have to change your mind every time the breeze changes directions, or when the polls change. If you believe in something, you're probably right. If you stupidly jump on every trend, fib, and fake news story you see, you're going to embarrass yourself, and probably quite frequently.

The sky is not always falling, and there is not always a wolf in the flock.

There's a message to many in there, but sadly, I doubt if they understand it. You can't help those that won't help themselves. I'm too busy enjoying myself to concern myself with your fictional sadness.

Take a gander at this post about Oregon hiring a new law school dean...13 members of the search committee, a paid consulting firm, each candidate has their own public hearing.

Because looking over the resumes, interviewing the top 3 and making an educated hire is for business, not state universities. The difference? One has a goal of making a profit. The other has a goal of being incredibly smug and self important.

Anyone who wants to expand the military about 25-30% in the next 5-10 years, with an emphasis on special forces and light infantry units, has my support, which is worth just a bit less than nothing.

While the easily panicked and sky is falling brigade insist the world will soon be obliterated by nuclear weapons, the truth is, almost all combat in the past 25 years has been small arms and tactical urban warfare. Never forget, the public is almost always wrong.

1. Trump has not had time to make a difference in the economy, yet the public feels it is in far better shape than a month or two ago? Why? Positive talk from the commander in chief. He's met with some corporate fellas, talked them into building a couple of factories here instead of abroad. More importantly, he continues to say good news is on the way...tax cuts, infrastructure projects, and so on. Suddenly, people go, "Great, I have $25 left in my wallet," while before they were saying, "Christ, I'm down to $25 in my wallet." Like my old district manager at the toy store said, "I don't care if we walk into an aisle and there's a pile of human sh*t there" I want you step right over it and say, "Great, that pile was twice as big as that yesterday. If you can't be positive about everything, you need to take your negativity and find another company to work for."

After 8 years of "my ideas are going great, but we're going to hell in a handbasket because of the Supreme Court and those damn Republicans," that optimism is a welcome change.

2. Not only is this very troubling to the Dems, it is difficult not to think positive economic growth will be met with anything but curses and loathing. Therefore, regardless of what actually happens, my bet is, negative spin, and lots of it.

I had not thought of this, but it's 100% correct. I noticed the many blacks behind Trump, but did not see any signs. In my memory, he's the first GOP candidate to even make an attempt to get anything but black conservatives.

One thing I've also noticed several times in the past month is how, after doubling the debt while overspending by $9T, several liberals are suddenly extremely concerned about fiscal responsibility, citing Eric Trump's business trip to Africa often, as his Secret Service protection was (gasp) $97K.

No one seems to give an alternative, however, should the president's family be forced to give up their occupations and sit in a room watching TV Land all day? I know I'm pretty much set in my viewpoints, but I do not mind Secret Service costs unless they involve vacations or personal time...in which case, asking the family to reimburse said costs make perfect sense to me. But, if $100M for Obama's wife, who spent 8 years complaining about being under a magnifying glass, to take the family to Africa is fine, but $100K for a business trip is not, well, you need to hide your hypocrisy better, or, at all.

What would Instapundit say? The Dems are worried about government spending? It's amazing what Trump can do!

McCain is a hawk, and Trump is far more moderate (which makes those expecting nonstop war look especially uninformed). All that said, McCain is all but certainly making a political ploy of some sort, he's been in DC plenty long enough not to know how it works. What exactly it is, don't know.

Badgers get back in the left column with a win at home. Despite both teams being hampered by terrible junior high officiating (a whistle pretty much every possession), they played their game, shooting more free throws than the Terps took, not turning the ball over at all in the 2nd half until garbage time, and even played well with 3 starters out with foul trouble. Nice games by Pritzl and Trice, in addition to the top 5.

The irony? Hillary wouldn't take a bowel movement without polling it and talking it over with her "team." Yet the Dems have completely ignored what the GOP did 8 years ago, blindly approving his cabinet picks, barely questioning them. The public, well, doesn't like it, and at best, thinks it's bad for the country.

Remember, midterms are 20 months away. A quick turnaround and rebound is needed, and that's exactly what the Republicans did in 2010, strategically plotting their course. I'm all for the left bouncing from topic to topic, with Pelosi getting camera time, and Obama thinking he can go back to his community organizing roots and pay a bunch of protesters with the public then saying, "You know, they called me an idiot and had no economic plan, but I'm changing my vote," but it's tough to believe the party is so lacking in leadership that this foolhardy lack of direction will continue much longer.

Bolton is my favorite "lucky guy" on Outnumbered, which I DVR every day and watch late in the afternoon. He's hilarious, but he is full of common sense and has as much complete contempt for liberal showboating politics as I do. That said, though I would miss him, he'd be a fine choice.

I have to agree. McCain was defeated by a candidate with no experience and no accomplishments except being a plus speaker, who kept uttering the same tired Ross Perot like phrases.

McCain was so busy playing defense and making sure he smiled a lot, never daring to raise his voice because the old media had insisted he had a terrible temper.

{As I said then, he should have looked right into the camera at the first debate and said, "I admit, spending 5 years in a north Vietnam POW camp made me impatient and the truth is, I can barely stand to take questions from the biased old media which hates my party and openly roots for my opponent. But I will fight for smaller government and a strong military with every bit of energy I got left in me."}

In fact, he still may have lost due to the overwhelming black vote in 2008. But many loyal conservatives, especially in the South, Indiana, and other swing states, stayed home because they considered him to be a RINO.

Over 1000 seats lost since Obamacare was passed. They can insist it's the greatest thing since country gravy all they want...the voters disagree.

Responding by insisting the voters are stupid? Good luck.

The difference between the left and right is simple. The left sees a problem and insists on changing the whole thing, at great cost to taxpayers and great expense to all. The right lets the market take care of it and then tries to have a plan in place for those others.

Don't forget, WI had a plan for those unable to get regular health coverage, it was called HIRSP, and while far from perfect (if memory serves, it was $300-650 a month with a $2500 deductible), it served its purpose. Those who did not make enough of an income were put on Medicaid or given a reduced premium. Obamcare made it go away, so now healthy people AND unhealthy people pay exorbitant rates instead of just the unhealthy.

Much like socialism, the whole concept involves making everyone suffer.

Every economist in the world will tell you this is true (some argue somewhat where the "best rate is, but agree it's correct in the big picture), and every Dem will tell you it's complete crap. Why? It doesn't say what they want it too.

Hearing the biggest applause lines were on attacking ISIS and on stopping/deporting illegals.

Funny, I've heard everyone wants illegals to just hang around.:) It's not polite to send them home. Except those who don't. As I point out often, the folks who despise illegals most are those that did it the right way, waited a decade or more mind you (like the first lady), and then finally earned their citizenship. Legal Latinos, ask my neighbor Rachel Campos Duffy, will point out the Dems pretend immigration and illegals are the same thing, when they are obviously two different things. This is why Trump did so well with Latinos, Cubans in particular. I'm so old, I recall when Bill Clinton and Obama said the same thing about strengthening our borders...but did nothing, because that's their modus operandi.

2. Trump says to look at the crowd size, and says the networks won't show crowd spilling out of the hangar. Camera hesitates, and slowly starts panning back to show the crowd, which is indeed out of the hangar.

As John Bolton said yesterday, Trump is changing how presidents use Twitter. Obama changed how presidents campaign, and probably for the worse, but it worked. FDR did fireside chats. Imitation is flattery.

Nothing would be better for their rivals. Molina is heavy set(like many catchers) and has seen his output drop dramatically. He's still probably average behind the plate (he threw out 21% last year, Rosario and Fryer threw out 33%), but he is 34 now and catchers age terribly. After compiling an 800+ OPS 3 years in a row (his 28-30 years), his last 3 years has totaled a 724 OPS mark.

Paying guys for past performance is Dave Stewart style. The Cards have natural advantages based on historical facts (they have a huge regional fan base due to being the first team west of the Mississippi River, and the signal strength of KMOX, but are technically a small market team and receive revenue sharing and compensation picks). Overpaying guys on the decline will quickly make those resources moot.

These are 2 unrelated links...but they aren't. This drives people to find a more common sense party. And, makes many shake their heads with disgust.

Remember in the days after the election, we heard a lot about the "hidden Trump voter." People who voted for him, but would not tell pollsters they were going to, for fear of being judged or made fun of or attacked.

So, since then, the left has doubled, tripled, quadrupled down. If you voted for Trump you are evil, stupid, racist, sexist, and so on. So, I'm sure many think this would change the minds of those reluctant Trump voter.

This is why I am a contrarian.

What has happened, you ask? Those quiet Trump voters are no longer quiet, at least many of them are not. They have looked at the facts and decided they don't want to be on that side that bullied them, that called them names, that belittled them. They know that white women voted for Trump 52-43. If you put 9 white gals in a room, 4 of them are probably Hillary supporters, and will gladly tell the other 5 how awful they are. Meanwhile, the other 5 are relaxing in their majority status, and quietly thinking they're glad those 4 want nothing to do with them.

And, the funniest thing is, white men have been by far the most vocal about how awful Trump is...they voted for him 62-31, a true 2-1 margin. Even the college educated whites supported Trump, 48-45. White women who are college grads barely went for Hillary, 51-44...a group one would think she won 90-3 if one looks at Facebook and Twitter. Louder is not better. As I often point out, louder actually hurts. Loud is not polite. It drives them away.

Most of all, white both parties supported their candidate almost exactly the same(88-8 and 89-8), independents broke for Trump, 46-42, just like they have done in governor, Congress, and legislature ballots all across the nation. When Obama took office, a scant 8 years ago, the Dems had 1000 more seats. His legacy is one of chasing away the middle while appealing to criminals, the extreme left, and socialists. He never hid his disdain for the military and law enforcement. The public noticed.

One thing I notice is the inconsistency the left has with their complaints...some say he has not done anything yet...of course, this is ridiculous, because he's been in office 3 weeks, and has probably gotten off to a faster start than any president in history.

The other complaint is he's "going too fast," which is like being too rich or too thin.

The irony is, while we just completed 8 years of worshiping Obama for basically spending and taxing far too much and pretending foreign policy did not exist, we seem to forget how slow government works. Obamacare started covering people in 2014...and the web site did not work because no one had bothered to test it. That's just shy of 5 years after he was elected.

The bureaucracy of DC moves slower than an Amish buggy that they forgot to hook up the horse to. They take a day and a half to make a 3 minute egg. Trump is a capitalist, and a successful one. He's used to hiring people that can get the job done, the first time, and come back for more, not career pencil pushers counting the days until their golden pension kicks in, and insisting every year they need a 20% budget increase so they get 10%.

When the Rambling wife wanted to begin working part time again, when the Rambling son went back to school, she took a job at the local district, in which she was a sub. They would call her when a non teacher was sick or took the day off. She worked in the library, or as an aide for special ed kids, or as an assistant in some rooms. One day, she was called to be the "faculty assistant" or some silly title. They told her to bring a book to read, because it would be slow. So, puzzled, she took a couple books. She spent the entire day in the teacher's prep area, by the copy machines, just off the lounge. Her job? Make copies, grade papers...do whatever busy work teachers had for her. She basically sat there the entire day reading, except for a couple 15 minute tasks.

Amazingly, that position was eliminated when schools had to be responsible and start saving money. Funny how quickly savings are "found" when forced to. However, if not for Governor Walker, by now, they'd probably have 2 of them in every school. Why not? It's just money from the taxpayers...

Remember, years ago, Pelosi said years ago they had nothing left to cut.

A lot of desperate, "everyone is a victim" backtracking taking place all of a sudden. If President Trump killed himself and 2 others because he was high as a kite, would the narrative be the same? Of course not.

It's still a shame a young man died, whether because of an accident, a drug deal gone bad, a paid hit, or his own irresponsible behavior, as in this case. But we should be mourning the loss of innocent lives far more, but because they did not have a good fastball, no one bothers even pretending to care.

Sportswriters are as cliche ridden and incredibly over dramatic as it gets. It's never been more apparent than when they put out drivel like this.

Chris Hansen‘s efforts to build a new NBA- and
NHL-ready arena in Seattle have been going on for more than five years,
but the investor is still confident that it will eventually happen,
according to an Associated Press report (link via USA Today).
Hansen’s group has increased the private funding in its arena plan and
re-submitted it to Seattle City Council, per The Associated Press.--Hoops Rumors
This is why Seattle does not have a basketball or hockey team, and Milwaukee does. Gotta decide if you want to be a big league city, or just another grouping of people. There's nothing wrong with Boise, or Des Moines, or Albuquerque. I visited a friend in Des Moines years ago and thought it was nearly perfect...except it lacked major league sports.

Some folks despise new arenas/stadiums/ballparks being built with any tax money being used, but at the end of the day, it's the only way you get a major league team, unless you live in New York or another metropolis. Cities, counties, and states make agreements with industry, commercial, and agricultural interests all the time, agreeing to build infrastructure, add water and sewer, and any number of "we'll waive your taxes for X years" because they feel it will be good for their bottom line and citizens.

As pointed out by many when the Bucks arena was being argued about, the state agreed to chip in money to help UW-Lacrosse put up a building...there were no hearings, no debates, no editorials, no nothing...just a line in the budget no one gave a damn about. Why all the contentious silliness about the arena?

Politics. Thankfully, Governor Walker and the Republican led legislature were able to push it through, working with a few Milwaukee folks. If not for Governor Thompson (and George Pataki), Miller Park would have never existed either.

Drilling is great for jobs, lowers oil and gas prices, and will spark more people to take vacations, both driving and flying. It's only a negative to those who owed a debt to the radical environmentalists.

I know they're winning since I'm getting it free press, but this KFC $10 "chicken share" promo they've had for quite some time is simply mind boggling to me. Getting 6 pieces of chicken for $10 is not only not a bargain, it's overpaying.

You can 8 pieces of fresh fried chicken at our any of our local grocery store delis for $8 365 days a year, and most run it on sale for $6 a week every month. A rotisserie chicken is $5-8. It's probably an 8 on a scale of 10, while KFC's is a 9.5, but, look at me, I ain't a picky eater.

I realize those of you that do not have your ad blocker on might get some sort of chicken restaurant banner on top of the screen. Funny how that works.

{As long as we're on the subject, if you can, shut it off for Ramblings, because I get paid far more that way. Most of you probably have a symbol for your ad blocker up by your "home" button, the ad blocker often has a number by it, showing you how many ads it's blocked since you've been on...mine says 77 right now. If you click on it (your ad blocker button, not the home button), it will likely ask you if you want to allow ads for this website, or something like that. Just click yes, or agree. This is especially important if you visit several times a day. I get a fraction of a cent for every "click" and I get something if you click on the ad, but only 1-5 people a day do that, because, well, it's an ad. Almost all my meager earnings comes from "clicks" of Ramblings readers. The only ad will show up at the top of the screen, so it is not bothersome. Thank you.}

Right now, the ad on my feed shows a Air BNB with Detroit prices...I bet that's not getting many click throughs.

Could it be that he's just really good at this?--Harris Faulkner, on Trump holding "campaign rallies" a month after taking office.

Obama campaigned nonstop for 8-10 years, though other than himself, his results were awful. Trump's getting his message out there, and it's part of the world we live in, this controlling the narrative. It's also a reminder that while the old media keeps insisting the sky is falling and the end of the world is near, the common man, the forgotten man, is a big fan.

Heck, many say it is ushering in an entire new era of conservatives! A wise man said that a while back, but I can't recall who. Click through on the link and read the comments, and you will soon understand why Trump won.Let's hope the left keeps protesting and behaving badly. Nothing better for the GOP.

Interesting what a tough stretch the Badgers are in right now, having lost a pair to good, but not great teams; they now have Maryland SUN, have a solid Ohio State road contest THU, they then have to play Michigan State the following SUN.

Koenig should be close to 100% by the Spartans' game, though Trice played very nicely last night, minus one horrible foul which led to a 4 point play. The whole team has been very turnover prone of late, which might be related to Bronson not handling the ball as much versus Northwestern and, of course, not at all last evening. Happ and Hayes, despite their many qualities, are both very fast and loose with the ball, each throwing the ball wildly away leading to MICH breakaway baskets...those are like giving up a TD on a fumble/interception, huge momentum shifts, and indefensible.

John Bolton pointed out that Russia is in international waters off the coast of Virginia. And while they might have a sub about 20 miles from US shores, the USA has, at any time, far more ships within miles of Russia's borders.

They have every right to be there, and the fact they might well be able to pick up cell phone calls or other forms of communications is just a bonus.

It's been about 24 hours since the presser, and the best summary was Chris Wallace, "he seized the narrative" and said everything he wanted to get out there.

--We're doing great.

--The old media hates me, and they are unfair.

{The funny thing is, considering his supporters totally agrees with this, this is looked at as incredibly gutsy by conservatives. Pointing this out is long overdue.}

--Let's look at the facts...cites various economic data and accomplishments.

--He's done what he promised to do. Tough on immigration, getting rid of silly regulations that were put in just to hold down business to pacify tree huggers.

--Pointed out the mess he inherited, especially in the foreign policy realm.

Obama has almost the entire old media as his cheerleaders for 8 years. This is why the press has an 18% approval rating. They won't do it for a Republican, so Trump is, in effect, promoting himself, as you would expect from a self promoting real estate mogul. Let's not pretend this is a new thing to point out the faults they walked into.

The Obama administration spent 8 years blaming the Bush administration for everything, including human mortality.--John Bolton

I get inundated with email every time I say it, but other than Bob Uecker, I don't think it was very funny...it's so loaded with cliches and immature silliness (this from a guy who loved Police Academy and all the American Pie movies) it just makes me shake my head. Bull Durham too...it lost me when a former major leaguer plays A ball. All the rest was so absurd, I could barely sit through it.

I think the fact far more think the country is headed in the right direction is the highest in 12 years is a far better sign, but I'm sure that's just because they polled the stupid hicks in flyover country.

Remember, this is despite the old media insisting the sky is falling EVERY SINGLE DAY.

2/16/2017 07:00:00 PM

These are the good old days. Some folks are just too busy wishing the streets were paved with gold to enjoy the good times.

Whatever strikes me as
interesting, and serious Milwaukee Brewers thoughts. If you are a believer
in respecting OBP, throwing strikes, and keeping the ball in the park,
you may have found the place you've been searching for. I believe in low taxes, small government, and am not afraid to be labeled patriotic. If you are interested in sausage race results, walk up music, or professional wrestling, you may wish to click elsewhere.

I'm happy to pay taxes to help the helpless. I don't like paying taxes to help the clueless. Look at the Occupy movement...I'm forced to pay taxes to help those whose plight I delight in.--Dennis Miller

If you choose the path of terror, your life will be empty, and your life will be brief.--President Trump

Never have lives less lived been more chronicled.--Dennis Miller

I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.--Mad Dog Mattis

I have never understood why it is "greed" to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else's money.--Thomas Sowell